Mayor’s Musings: Growth, Housing, and Land Use in Newberg

This “Mayor’s Musings” represents the opinion of Newberg mayor, Bill Rosacker. It does not represent the policies of the city, city council, or this publication. This column was edited only for grammar, spelling, and clarity—any clarifying edits have been marked with [brackets]. Links were added for further context.

This has been a hard issue to write. So many of the issues that are unpopular or controversial are interconnected by decisions that have been made by the state of Oregon which are out of our control.

I wanted to talk about Collina Crossing. Others are asking about the “short term rental” situation. Still others want to talk about affordable housing, and the possible expansion of the urban growth boundary. I realized that they are all rooted in Oregon’s statewide land use laws. 

I apologize, this subject is esoteric and boring, unless you have a dog in the fight. It will, however, affect you.

The voters created statewide land use laws in 1973, while I was attending Newberg High School. Only five states have statewide land use laws.

I bet you can guess which ones; they all have expensive housing.

The plan was supposed to preserve farmland and control the growth of Oregon’s cities. Two lines were drawn around every city in Oregon.

1. The “Urban Growth Boundary” which contained a 20-year supply of buildable land for growth
2. The “Urban Growth Reserve” which contained enough land for the future 20-30 years.

The sales pitch was this would allow the city to expand in a controlled way, while making farm and forest ground unavailable for development. The boundaries will grow in a methodical way.

The non-elected bureaucrats who were put in charge are the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). They created a new zoning classification, Exclusive Farm Use, exclusive forest use etc. This was supposed to make it off limits for residential or commercial development.

They put a minimum number of acres on each property—5, 10, 20—the minimum number of acres each “farm” could contain. I grew up at the base of Rex Hill on a 10-acre farm surrounded by larger farms which were owned by original land grant families.

In the 1980’s affluent people started building McMansions on smaller acreages which could be divided if the developer could convince the county that the five acres would be used for farming.

“I own a horse; therefore I will buy the minimum acreage allowed and build a large house and a barn—” approved.

The result is that most of the century farms were divided into hobby farms on small acreage owned by affluent people.

Meanwhile, inside the UGB, the city limits expanded, the UGB did not. Here in Newberg, the only large un-developed parcels left inside the UGB are to the Northeast, they encompass about 450 acres and are currently being developed.

But the law says that the UGB must contain a 20-year supply of development land. The unelected DLCD decided (which I believe is a violation of the recent[ly overturned] Chevron Decision) that the law could be met by decreasing the lot sizes inside all cities. In the 1980’s a low-density residential lot was about 10,000 sq. ft., now it is 3,500 sq. ft.

The current Oregon Governor Tina Kotek sponsored a bill that requires all cities to approve a duplex, tri-plex, Quad-plex, cottage cluster, and if the population is over 25,000, even a multi-family building on any lot where a single-family residence can be built. This requirement required the city to upgrade water lines to existing residential neighborhoods costing you the citizens $7.5 million. They also approved Auxiliary Dwelling Units (ADU) which allows a second residence on your property. 

This means, if you live in a residential neighborhood in Newberg and your neighbor’s house burns down, a developer can buy it and put a multi-family structure with reduced parking requirements (1.2 parking spaces per unit and on street parking counts). There is no way that the city can prevent it.

Or they can build a cottage cluster of tiny homes in their back yard which can be rented or sold. Your neighborhood will change, and we can’t prevent it.

Our city council has a goal to increase the supply of industrial property to provide jobs. The properties east and south of the airport adjacent to highway 219 are several large, relatively flat properties with access to Interstate 5 via the only bridge over the Willamette between Wilsonville and Salem. We contacted the landowners, and they are supportive.

The reality: Step 1 is to spend about $750,000 over the next two years to get ready to apply for expansion. When we apply, 1000 Friends of Oregon will then challenge the application. It will force the city to defend the lawsuit for years and will most likely not be successful. I cannot justify spending your money in this manner.

The land use laws put into place by my parents were a valiant effort to be good stewards of our wonderful piece of God’s Country. Unfortunately, the rule making has been disastrous for the average citizens who can’t afford the home of their dreams.

I believe that our land use laws should be scrapped and local control re-asserted. I am of the belief that the Chevron decision gives us the vehicle to accomplish this.

One possible bright spot…Collina Crossing, our newest development and the plan of one of Newberg’s most visionary families. 

Until next time, God Bless you and thank you for allowing me to serve as your mayor. 

– Bill Rosacker

Editor’s Note: This column, “Mayor’s Musings,” is written by Newberg’s Mayor who contributes their ideas and thoughts to the column which can help provide perspective or insight into current happenings around City Hall. This is an opinion piece written by Newberg’s mayor, edited only for grammar, spelling, and clarity if required, by Newsberg. Any opinions stated within the post are those of the Mayor alone, and not shared by Newsberg. This column intends to support the public flow of information between Newberg’s government and its citizens.

For questions, comments, or clarifications, contact Mayor Bill Rosacker via email.

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